Drawing support assembly

ABSTRACT

An assembly is provided for supporting cloth, or other sheet material, upon which markings, such as paintings or drawings, are made by felt tipped, ball point or other marking devices. The assembly comprises a top support member, usually round or oval, and a removable hoop to temporarily fasten the cloth in position. A pad consisting of stacked sheets of blotter paper adhered together at their edges is positioned between the cloth and the support member.

United States Patent Francis W. Andrews Clarcona;

Philip S. Sussman, Orlando, both of Fla. 78,448

Oct. 6, 1970 Jan. 1 l, 1972 Mark-Tex Corporation Englewood, NJ.

[72] Inventors [21] Appl. No. [22] Filed [45] Patented [73] Assignee [54] DRAWING SUPPORT ASSEMBLY 7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

52 U.S. Cl 118/503, 35/26 [51] Int. Cl B05c 11/14 [50] Field of Search 1 18/506, 35.1,503;ll7/l20;35/26;16l/401,406,413; 156/246, 247

[56} References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 726,141 4/1903 Chester 35/26 1,285,903 11/1918 Bazzoni 117/38 X 1,425,597 8/1922 La Borie... 35/26 1,742,831 l/1930 Teal et a1. 101/407 R 2,096,389 10/1937 Bode 161/413 X 2,728,156 12/1955 Wandell, Jr. 38/102.2 3,162,290 12/1964 Knight 118/3l.5 UX 2,175,364 10/1939 Rugenstein 101/1282 Primary Examiner-Morris Kaplan Altorney- Eliot S. Gerber ABSTRACT: An assembly is provided for supporting cloth, or other sheet material, upon which markings, such as paintings or drawings, are made by felt tipped, ball point or other marking devices. The assembly comprises a top support member, usually round or oval, and a removable hoop to temporarily fasten the cloth in position. A pad consisting of stacked sheets of blotter paper adhered together at their edges is positioned between the cloth and the support member.

DRAWING SUPPORT ASSEMBLY DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to a support device for temporarily securing a cloth in position and more particularly to a device similar, in some respects, to an embroidery frame. An inner frame member has a geometry such that it telescopes within an outer frame member and secures a sheet of textile material between them.

At the present time a widespread hobby or leisure time activity is to draw or paint designs on cloth. Special marking devices, such as special ballpoint markers and felt tipped markers, are produced in a wide range of colors for that purpose. For example, one type of ballpoint marking device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,787,249 to S. D. Barlow. The fluid in those pens is especially formulated to adhere to textile material. Many different designs are printed on cloths, which may be ordered from various catalogs, permitting labeled areas to be filled in by the user with the designated colors. Other users prefer to draw their own designs upon the cloth and to fill in areas of color according to their own inspiration.

It is conventional to mount the cloth on a form backing. For example, one type of support is a round or oval plate having a descending skirt or flange around which a removable and tightenable hoop is secured. The assembly resembles an embroidery hoop, except that the center is solid. If the cloth is placed directly on the backing plate, which is of metal, the colors may penetrate the cloth, spread on the metal backing surface, and spread to other portions of the cloth. In addition, the metal backing did not present a sufficiently soft or resilient backing for the best operation of the ball-type marking devices. It was suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 2,728,156 to C. F. Wandell, Jr., in a patent entitled Holder for Textile Painting," that blotting paper having a peripheral slotted skirt should be positioned beneath the cloth. That suggestion required that a new and specially formed sheet be placed in position each time the blotting paper became soiled.

In addition, the placement of the slotted portion over the skirt was cumbersome, and the specially formed and cutblotting sheets relative expensive. A flexible absorbent material, namely, a sheet of the nonwoven fabric pellon, has also been used beneath the cloth being painted.

It is an objective of the present invention to provide an assembly to support and firmly bold a textile sheet in position while it is being painted by marking devices.

It is a further objective of the present invention to provide such an assembly in which the backing is slightly resilient to enable ballpoint marking devices to draw on the held textile sheet.

It is a still further objective of the present invention to provide such a support assembly in which a pad of blotting paper behind the textile sheet may be conveniently and readily changed and which will present a fresh and unsoiled blotter sheet each time a soiled sheet is removed.

It is a still further objective of the present invention to provide such a support assembly in which the various elements may be readily assembled and the blotting paper positioned without any difficulty.

In accordance with the present invention an assembly is provided to support a textile sheet while it is being painted with a marking device. The terms cloth, textile sheet and fabric" mean any sheet material which can be drawn or painted upon, including woven and nonwoven fabric, such as canvas, plastic film and flexible paper sheets. The assembly comprises a backing member having a flat top plate and a descending skirt or flange. A removable hoop is adapted to fit around the skirt and hold the cloth between itself and the skirt.

A pad consisting of stacked sheets of blotting paper, or a similar material, is positioned on the top plate underneath the cloth. The stacked blotting sheets are glued together at their edges. In one embodiment the bottom sheet of the pad, at its bottom, has an adhesive material to removably affix the pad to the top plate. In another embodiment the pad is removably affixed to the top plate by a tape having an adhesive on both its faces.

Other objectives of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, which gives the inventors best mode of practicing the invention, the description being taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. I is an exposed perspective view of the elements of the holding assembly of the present invention before assembly;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side plan view ofa portion ofthe pad;

FIG. 3 is a side plan view similar to FIG. 2 but with the pad mounted on the support; and

FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the assembly device.

As shown in FIG. 1, the support assembly includes a support plate member 10 having a top substantially flat surface 11 and a skirtlike descending flange 12. The skirtlike flange 12 forms a cylindrical surface.

The lower edge of flange l2 terminates in a beaded-over rim 13. The top surface 11 is preferably, when viewed from above, either round or oval, and may be, for example, 7 inches or 10 inches round or 10 inches oval. The top 11 provides a base upon which the cloth is supported.

A pad 15 is positioned on the top 10. The pad, when viewed from above, is approximately the same size and shape as the top, i.e., preferably either round or oval. As shown in FIG. 2, the pad 15 consists of stacked layers of flat absorbent sheets, preferably sheets of blotter paper. For example, each pad may have 12 stacked sheets. The edges of the sheets are glued together by an adhesive 16. The adhesive 16 may be applied all over the edges or only in two or more areas around the circumference of the pad. The stacked sheets may be handled as a unit and yet ink-soiled sheets may be removed from the top of the stack. For example, the user may remove the top-soiled blotter sheet by sliding a knife, nail file or letter opener under the edge of the top sheet. The bottom sheet 17 is, in one embodiment, a smooth paper which is coated with a removable adhesive on its bottom side, a suitable adhesive being latex. The adhesive coating is covered by a protective layer 18 of kraft or other heavy paper or plastic film, which is adapted to be peeled offprior to removably affixing the pad 15 to the top.

The cloth 20 is positioned above the top blotter sheet of the pad 15.

A hoop 21 is positioned over the cloth and brought down over the skirtlike flange 13. The hoop may be a metal band having a spring 22 secured near its ends so that the diameter of the hoop may be increased. The hoop is expanded, by hand, while being fitted over the flange 12. It is then allowed to contract, under the force of the spring 22, so that it holds the cloth 20 between itself and the flange 12.

The cloth is held taut by the hoop 21. The cloth, due to the blotting paper pad underneath it, is firmly supported. The support, however, is slightly resilient to permit proper operation of ballpoint markers. The blotting paper prevents the unwanted spread of ink.

In operation, when the area being marked is finished and if the top blotter sheet is soiled, the user opens and pulls off the hoop. She then pulls off the top layer of blotting paper and discards it. A fresh blotter sheet will be exposed. She then positions a fresh unmarked area of the cloth over the pad and replaces the hoop on the top member. When the blotter sheets of the pad are used up, the pad is removed and replaced by a fresh pad.

Modifications may be made in the present invention within the scope of the subjoined claims. For example, the adhesive coating and its protective film may be omitted from the pad. The bottom sheet of the pad may be of a stiff cardboard sheet, or the pad made up entirely of sheets of blotter paper. In both those alternatives the pad would simply be held in position by the cloth which is held taut by the hoop. Alternatively, the adhesive layer and its protective film may be omitted from the pad and replaced by an adhesive tape having an adhesive on both its top and bottom. The tape would be removably affixed to the top surface 11 and would then be removably affixed to the bottom of the pad. The pad may be held in position by a liquid or heat sensitive adhesive which may be brushed or sprayed on either the top surface of the support or by an adhesive applied directly to the bottom of the bottom blotter sheet.

We claim:

1. A support assembly adapted to support a sheet which lies flat so that it may be drawn upon, comprising a support member having a substantially flat top portion and a flange portion descending from said top portion, a plurality of layers of absorbent material each having the outline shape of said top portion, said layers being stacked to form a pad, adhesive means securing the stacked layers together, said layers being separately strippable, said sheet being positioned over the top layer of said pad and having a skirt portion extending over said flange, and a member removably fastened about side flange and skin portions and adapted to secure the sheet in position.

2. A support assembly as in claim 1 wherein said top and said absorbent blotter layers are round.

3. A support assembly as in claim 1 wherein said top and said absorbent blotter layers are oval.

4. A support assembly as in claim 1 wherein the bottom surface of the pad has thereon an adhesive material which is removably adhered to said top.

5. A support assembly as in claim 1 wherein a tape having adhesive on its top and bottom removably fastens the bottom of said pad to said top.

6. A support assembly as in claim 1 wherein the bottom sheet of the pad is a cardboard sheet.

7. A support assembly as in claim 1 wherein the said adhesive means secures the edges of the said sheets. 

1. A support assembly adapted to support a sheet which lies flat so that it may be drawn upon, comprising a support member having a substantially flat top portion and a flange portion descending from said top portion, a plurality of layers of absorbent material each having the outline shape of said top portion, said layers being stacked to form a pad, adhesive means securing the stacked layers together, said layers being separately strippable, said sheet being positioned over the top layer of said pad and having a skirt portion extending over said flange, and a member removably fastened about side flange and skirt portions and adapted to secure the sheet in position.
 2. A support assembly as in claim 1 wherein said top and said absorbent blotter layers are round.
 3. A support assembly as in claim 1 wherein said top and said absorbent blotter layers are oval.
 4. A support assembly as in claim 1 wherein the bottom surface of the pad has thereon an adhesive material which is removably adhered to said top.
 5. A support assembly as in claim 1 wherein a tape having adhesive on its top and bottom removably fastens the bottom of said pad to said top.
 6. A support assembly as in claim 1 wherein the bottom sheet of the pad is a cardboard sheet.
 7. A support assembly as in claim 1 wherein the said adhesive means secures the edges of the said sheets. 